"Ultimately, no nation can be great
 unless its greatness is lain on
 foundations of righteousness and decency."

~ President Theodore Roosevelt ~

The following was recently received from a friend of mine, and obviously we need to get to know each other a little better as he does not yet know my political affiliation nor my stance on frivolous law suits. His Holiday Greeting was as follows:

For My Democrat Friend:

Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all.

I also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2007, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great.

Not to imply that America is necessarily greater than neither any other country nor the only America in the Western Hemisphere.

Also, this wish is made without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wishee.

By accepting these greetings, you are accepting the aforementioned terms as stated. This greeting is not subject to clarification or withdrawal. It is freely transferable with no alteration to the original greeting.It implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for herself/himself/others, and is void where prohibited by law and is revocable at the sole discretion of the wisher.

This wish is warranted to perform as expected within the usual application of good tidings for a period of one year or until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first, and warranty is limited to replacement of this wish or issuance of a new wish at the sole discretion of the wisher.

For My Republican Friend:

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

All I can say to my friend is: Thanks for being sensitive, but next time send me the second one only. That will make me very happy.

Our founding fathers exhibited enormous wisdom when they constructed the Constitution in 1787. During this same constitutional convention, written by the exact same founding fathers that we respect so highly today (and rightly so), another document also came into being.

That document is referred to as The Northwest Ordinance of 1787. This was a document that they created to establish the standards that they expected of future states that may develop in the Northwest territory, and who would likely at some future date approach Congress and apply for admission to the Union.

For those of us who live in the Northwest (especially in my home state of Oregon), we continue to benefit from the wisdom of our founding fathers as articulated in The Northwest Ordinance of 1787.

Specifically, when it comes to keeping our heart on the right path, they issued wisdom in Article 3 as follows:

• "Religion, morality, and knowledge, being necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged."

The same people who drafted the Constitution of the United States also drafted this Ordinance -- in the exact same convention! Scripture admonishes us to keep our heart on the right path (Proverbs 23:19), and our founding fathers offered the same counsel.

The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 hardly supports the [misguided] notions of some who purport that the so-called "separation of church and state" phrase [found in a letter of one of the founding fathers] lends itself to the philosophy of maintaining a society devoid of any religion, and of having an amoral approach to life and liberty.

Religion, morality, and knowledge (truth!) are necessary to a society that seeks happiness and peace.

Thanks for reading, and for considering [once again] the wisdom of our founding fathers, and also the wisdom of our heavenly Father.

Recently elected to Congress, Keith Ellison, D-Minn. has announced that he will not take his oath of office on the Bible.  Instead, he will use the Qur'an (or also transliterated as Quran, Koran, Al-Quran), the holy book of Islam.

Personally, I really don't want our nation to start going down that road.  After all, look at what else might be used in place of the Bible in some future swearing-in ceremonies:

• "The Communist Manifesto" by Karl Marx
• Claiming that across Europe communism was feared, but not understood, the communists made their views known with a manifesto.

• "Mein Kampf" by Adolf Hitler
• Briefly stated, in Mein Kampf, Hitler presents himself as the "Übermensch" ("super-human"), describing plans for German-allied countries to rule Europe, along a racist worldview of white supremacy with "Aryans" as the "master race" at the top and Jews and Gypsies at the bottom.

• The Wiccan Pentagram
• The five points of the frequently worn pentagram symbolize, among other things, the four elements with spirit presiding at the top.  The pentagram is the symbol most commonly associated with Wicca in modern times.

• "Beyond Good and Evil" by Friedrich Nietzche
• Part of his "perspective of life" which he regards as "beyond good and evil", denies a universal morality for all human beings. The master and slave moralities feature prominently as Nietzsche reevaluates deeply-held humanistic beliefs, portraying even domination, appropriation and injury to the weak as not universally objectionable. A tone of moral relativism and perspectivism dominates throughout.

• "The Satanic Bible" by Anton LaVey
• The book contains the core principles of Satanism and is considered the foundation of the philosophy and dogma that comprises Satanism. Satanists maintain that The Satanic Bible may not be subject to interpretation or revision, and that no rule or principle contradictory to what is written in The Satanic Bible may be considered applicable to Satanism.

And these are just a few of the possibilities that lay down the road if we allow a new Congressman to be sworn-in with anything but the traditional Bible.

Perhaps one alternative could be provided if the Bible is "offensive" to the newly elected.  That alternative is "The Constitution of the United States."

My recent studies have surrounded the Constitution of the United States, the Bill of Rights, the Amendments, and the laws that emanate from them. What a fascinating study!

My interest reached a point of spontaneous combustion after watching and reading about the various "points of law" that politicians, courts, and society in general debated in recent times with regard to Supreme Court Nominees, the Patriot Act, and several other high-profile debates.

At times I wish I had more than one life to live, just so that I could learn and experience all that life has to offer. That is not to say that I am in any way, shape, or form dissatisfied with what I have learned and experienced so far. I am just overwhelmed by the beauty and complexity of this world that God has created, and mankind's ability to engage in so many aspects of creation - including the formation and practice of law and justice.

As I study Constitutional Law, I do not know if I should feel smart, or dumb. On the one hand the subject is not necessarily an easy read or an easy one to grasp. On the other hand, I am humbled by how much I don't know! It reminds me of when I was in Bible school...

In Bible School, as first year students we felt confident that we knew it all. By the second year, we were confident that we did not know it all. By the third year, we were convinced that we did not know anything!

If you are interested in a short read (and a crash course) in the Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and the Amendments, I would suggest securing a copy of Floyd G. Cullop's excellent booklet simply entitled, "The Constitution of the United States: An Introduction." If you would like to study an introduction to Constitutional Law and the kinds of laws and legal systems that emanate from it today, read Jay A. Feinman's book, "Law 101."

May God continue to Bless America - as we honor Him.

Frankly, no.

When reading, interpreting, and applying scripture to real life, we must be careful to allow scripture to say what it means, and to not twist it (even ever so slightly) in order to gain some "evidence" to support our opinions.

As an American citizen and as a Christian, I was embarrassed a few months ago when Senator Hillary Clinton invoked scripture and the name of Jesus in an unfortunately obvious and [scripturally] ignorant attempt to support her political stance on illegal immigration.

While I am all for the use of scripture as a source of truth and wisdom for forming public policy in a democratic system of government, I am against the use of it by people who only use it when it is politically expedient while not adhering to the scriptures in good conscience the other 99% of the time.

So, back to the opening question: does scripture mandate open borders?

No, it does not.

Does it mandate sensitivity to the needy, the poor, and the oppressed? Yes, absolutely. However, that does not mean that open borders are intended.

For example, do you leave your front door unlocked at night? Do you leave your keys in the ignition when you go into the store? Do you leave your name, address, and social security number laying around in public?

I hope that you answered "no" to each of those questions.

Locking the front door at night does not mean that you are insensitive to the needy, the homeless, and the poor. It simply means that you are going to maintain control over who comes in and stays with your family -- a responsible thing to do for the security and wellbeing of your family.

You take your keys out of the ignition and take them into the store with you, not because you are insensitive to the needy, the homeless, or the poor who do not have access to a car. No, you simply are maintaining control over your car so that it can be used in appropriate situations by the right people who will use it responsibly and will not endanger others who are also on the road.

You maintain privacy with your personal information, not because you are insensitive to the needy, the homeless, or the poor, but because you reserve the use of that information for appropriate situations where that information would be helpful to you in helping your family and others.

So, if we do all of those things for the right reasons -- reasons of security and responsibility -- how is it any different when it comes to controlling our boarders? 

Controlling our borders does not mean that they are closed. Controlling our borders does not mean that we are insensitive to the needy, the homeless, and the poor. Controlling the border simply means this: we will exercise due diligence for the safety of our citizens by controlling who will come into our "home" and benefit from our national identity and resources.

I would venture an educated guess: every person who is adamant about keeping the borders open in an uncontrolled manner (and who advocate that illegal immigrants have a "right" to be here and participate in everything that America has to offer) are also consistent about locking their doors and windows at night, always take their keys with them into the store after setting the alarm on their car, and are appalled when someone (like a credit card company) is loose with their personal I.D. in such a manner that it results in their personal "I.D. theft" experience.

America is a nation of immigrants and I believe it will continue as such. But, we are also a nation that cherishes the rule of law and due process that makes a clear distinction between people who are trustworthy to live in our society, and those who are not.

And by the way, exercising scrutiny in our immigration policy is not racism, for all of the skin colors and all of the cultures of the world are knocking on the door of this fine country. Instead, exercising scrutiny and due process in our immigration policy is simply this: wisdom!

Welcome to "My 2 Cents".

While I have been blogging for a few years now, I find that I need to expand my blogging portals beyond just the current two (hosted elsewhere).  That is not to say that I am a prolific blogger (though Hugh Hewitt has become a great inspiration to me in recent times).

My subject matter tends to be broad, and I think that an additional portal will help me to stay focused and dig deeper within each subject area.  It will also help current and future readers to bookmark only those blogs with which they share an interest.

Thanks for dropping by, and for reading.  I look forward to contributing to the collective e-voice of TownHall.com.